Pele-1
In Pele, when Polynesians from the Marquesas found the Hawaiian Islands in 400 AD, they found a far larger archipelago than the Hawaiian Islands of Homeline. They settled there, and used their expanded resource base to become great traders. They made contact with mainland Asia, in particular China, in the 700's. Desire for trade and new lands led to the discovery of the Americas, and a Chinese diaspora fleeing the Mongols seeded Chinese culture, carried by Hawaiian ships, across the Pacific and along the west coasts of North and South America. Now, the European powers, who have progressed more or less unchanged from Homeline, have "discovered" the New World, and are coming into conflict with the more advanced and urbanized Native American civilizations that have sprang up there. East of the Sun, West of the Moon In Homeline, the Hawaiian islands have been created by the Hawaiian hotspot, a plume of magma underneath the Pacific Ocean. As the plate moves past the hotspot, the magma wells up, forming giant shield volcanos, the tips of which poke above sea level as the Hawaiian archipelago. In Pele, the hotspot is larger and more widespread, leading to broader, and more, volcanos, which in turn lead to larger Hawaiian Islands. The larger land area gave the early settlers of Hawaii more room to develop and spread out. Larger islands created more room for agriculture, and thus more population. The Polynesians who settled the islands lost none of their seafaring skill, though, as travel between islands (including periodic visits back to the Marquesas, to remain in touch with kin) was an important part of Hawaiian culture. The Polynesian facility with long distance sea travel was destined to change Pele's history radically, and the first major turning point occured in the 8th century AD. In Pele, Midway Island produced sailors and navigators famous even among the Polynesians for their willingness to sail great distances for trade and profit. The name of the bold navigator who first made the harsh journey to the southeast is unknown. However, what he found was eagerly recorded by navigators throughout Hawaiian history. Slightly more than 1000 miles southeast of Midway, the steady winds known as the Northeast Trade Winds began to blow. Once in their grasp, it was relatively easy for a skilled navigator to sail his vessel southeast, restocking in the Marinara Islands, then continuing southeast until striking the Phillipines. Later navigators extended the route past the Phillipine Archipelago, eventually making landfall in southern China. Trade with China was initially not particularly profitable for the Hawaiians. The Chinese valued little the Hawaiians had to offer; for an entire boatload of wooden warclubs, shell mosaics, and feather cloaks, a navigator was lucky to get a few iron spearpoints, or a bolt of silk. Still, those cargos could be exchanged for ten boatloads of wealth back in Hawaii, so the occaisional bold venturer continued to make the trip. The major long-term contribution of this trade to Hawaiian prosperity, however, was the introduction of several new species of bamboo to the islands, where the light, strong, flexible wood improved boat building techniques considerably. The next big step in the fortunes of the Hawaiian islands came in the 11th century. Legend tells of a large flotilla of Hawaiian ships (each holding 30 or 40 people), who were caught in a sudden tropical storm. To escape the storm, the chief navigator took the flotilla northeast. However, the storm followed them. The ships ran before the storm for days, the wind always steady enough to sail with, but fast enough to propell them across the sea at great speed. Nonetheless, by the time they finally sighted land, the ships' crews were starving, and almost dying of thirst. They weathered the storm in sheltered bays in the new land. When it had passed, they began to explore. After a few days of searching, they came to the conclusion that they had not come upon an island, but a far greater landmass of some sort. The Hawaiians soon established contact with the locals, and eventually were able to learn the language. They were able to trade for supplies and some guides to the local coast, as they discovered that the natives of the area (Homeline historians suspect that they were a Salish tribe) were rather technologically primitive, and the Hawaiian's metal tools and foreign artwork fascinated them. The fleet restocked, and began to sail south, looking for favorable winds to take them back west, to their home. It took the fleet almost three years to finally reach Hawaii again, but in the meantime, they had discovered a great deal of new territory. The fleet had had to sail south, almost to Baja California, to finally find favorable winds for their westward journey. Meanwhile, they had made contact with a great deal of local tribes, and seen some very impressive amounts of virtually empty land. Their story, when they finally returned to the Kingdom of Hawaii, touched off a bit of a rush among Hawaiian merchants, who saw a golden opportunity to trade common Hawaiian implements for exotic Native American ones. Contact with the Americas revolutionized Hawaiian trade with China, particularly after the Hawaiians discovered the Meso-American civilizations (and their precious metal art objects). A four-cornered trade arangement began to form, with Hawaiian art and tools being traded east to the natives of the Pacific Northwest, Pacific Northwest tools, raw materials, and mercenaries travelling south to Meso-America, Meso-American gold, silver, and art trading west across the Pacific to China, and Chinese silk, spices, and tools moving to Hawaii; and Hawaiian merchants and navigators participated at every stage, becoming steadily richer. Within a century of the initial discovery of the Americas, the trading process had become formalized as the "Great Fleet". Every six years, a large fleet (between 50 and 100 vessels) would leave Hawaii and sail east, making landfall in the Pacific Northwest. There, they would winter, trading some of their cargo for new supplies, repairs to their ships, raw materials and art objects, and young warriors to serve as mercenary guards. Next spring, they would sail south along the coast, stopping at some small colonies to acquire more raw materials (such as lumber, bamboo, and unforged metals). The Great Fleet would then winter again in Meso-America, trading most of the gathered trade goods to the Toltec city-states on the coast, and acquiring a large supply of precious metals, gems, and exotic animals and plants. The next two years were generally spent recrossing the Pacific, taking a southerly route. After the main archipelagos of the Pacific were reached, the fleet generally broke up into smaller groups, each sub-fleet pursuing its own course westward, and making small stops at individual islands to do minor trade and resupply. Finally, the individual parts of the fleet made landfall in southern China, where they traded their Meso-American cargo for fine Chinese weapons, tools, spices, and silk. Then, almost 5 years later, the vessels slowly made their way east once again, to Hawaii. There, the sailors of the fleet would live in luxury for a year, living off the profits of their voyages, until it was time to set off once again. Chinese Diaspora The Chinese were not unaware of the new lands discovered by the Hawaiians. Chinese explorers and merchants listened to the stories brought by the Hawaiian merchants from across the Pacific, and speculated. Some bold Chinese venturers even joined Hawaiian vessels, and often made themselves rich in the process. However, the Imperial government never took great notice of the cross-Pacific trade - its volume was never particularly siginficant, even if a few individuals became wealthy from it. Events in China, however, soon conspired to make the western lands more important. The dynasty at the time was the Song, who had been coming under increasing pressure from the northern barbarians for years. In 1127, the dynasty was forced to abandon the northern provinces and move south, due to the invaisions of the Mongols. In Pele, this event provoked the beginnings of a Chinese migration that would have profound effects on the history of the Pacific and the lands surrounding it. At first, only a few Chinese immigrated, taking ship with the Hawaiians whenever they could. However, as the pressure from the Mongols grew, the trickle became a flood. In the 1270s, as the Mongols closed in, the Hawaiian Great Fleet was almost hijacked by the number of refugees seeking escape. The majority of the Chinese emigrants, including the majority of the high officals, ended up in Hawaii itself, where they contributed significantly to the unification and centralization of the kingdom. From this point on, Hawaii was effectively a hybrid civilization, with a Chinese writing system, Chinese crops playing a major role in agriculture, and Chinese officials becoming a major part of the government. However, by no means all the escapees were willing to settle in Hawaii. Already the islands were becoming crowded, as increased standards of living caused the local population to rise, and other refugees set up homes there. A number of the Chinese emigrants elected to keep moving, crossing the Pacific all the way to North America. There, they tried to set up homesteads wherever they could find space and suitable land for their crops and livestock. Eventually, settlers migrating down the coast came upon what, in Homeline, would be San Fransisco Bay. The location was almost ideal - very sparse previous inhabitants, an excellent anchorage, pleasant (if foggy) climate, and fertile land. Within a couple of generations, the population had grown to almost 10,000 souls. Chinese emigration also took numerous refugees south and west, often hiring Hawaiian navigators to guide them. Small colonies sprang up throughout the Indian Ocean basin, from the coasts of Africa, to India, to Indonesia. A few small groups even made it as far as Austrialia, becoming the first non-Aboriginees to settle there. Expanding Horizons After a century, the Mongol Empire in China collapsed, unable to maintain its conquests. The newly established Ming dynasty, after consolidating its position, began to look outward. By this time, the cross-Pacific trade was well-established and stronger than ever, as Chinese settlers introduced advanced agriculture and technology to the Native American civilizations. In the 1340s, the settlment around Homeline San Fransisco had discovered gold in their area, and had begun a siginficant economic boom, turning an already important port for the Great Fleet into a major regional naval power in itself. Old World diseases had taken their toll on the Native Americans, meanwhile, bringing chaos and warfare to the Pacific Northwest, Meso-America, and the city states of the Andes, and epidemic death to less densely-populated regions. However, the breadth of the Pacific slowed the disease exchange, and the small Chinese and Hawaiian populations were in no position to take advantage of the disruptions by conquering vast empires. By the 1300s, the civilizations of North America were on the road to recovery, as improved agriculture and technology lead to more dense populations than ever. The Ming dynasty was aware of the far-flung colonies of Chinese civilization that two centuries of refugees had produced. To the Ming, all Chinese civilization, no matter where it was, should be under the Emperor. However, sending armadas of conquest proved impractical, at least in some cases. The Ming did begin an extensive naval program, aimed at improving connections between the Empire and its distant "subjects", as well as bringing more trade directly under Imperial control. However, the main tools of the Ming Emperors were their skilled diplomats. Numerous Chinese colonies accepted at least theoretical rule by the Ming, after being visted by skilled and convincing diplomats. Nonetheless, numerous distant settlements never really toed the Imperial line, and the Ming dynasty contines to attempt to bring them back into the fold. Meanwhile, the European powers have finally become aware of the lands across the Atlantic (Christopher Columbus was even more convinced that he had found China, in Pele, since he came upon several small Chinese outposts). Now, the Europeans are beginning to arrive on the shores of the Americas, ready to spread the power of their kings, and Chrisitianity. However, at least in Meso-America, they are encountering civilizations that are familiar with steel, gunpowder, disease, and domesticated animals, and have their own epidemics and diseases to give to Europe. The conquest of the Americas does not seem to be nearly as certain in this timeline as in Homeline's. Outworld Operations Pele has been known to Infinity for several years, but it has not been a particularly major priority until recently. Before that, it was generally seen as just another low-tech world - interesting, due to its unusual Old World-New World contact background, but not a particularly critical world by any means. Most Homeline traffic consisted of carefully disguised tourist groups, eager to explore the Kingdom of Hawaii, the tribes of the Pacific Northwest, Chinese San Fransisco, and the city-states of Meso America. This all changed two years ago, when Infinity detected Centrum agents infiltrating Ming Dynasty diplomatic missions. It now appears that Centrum has been aware of Pele for several years, and has been subtly working to enhance Ming China's power and influence, in the interests of setting up their usual meritocratic centralized state. Infinity is torn on the appropriate response to this - they have no particular wish to destablize China, as that would put millions of people in danger of war, starvation, and disease. However, there is strong political pressure against increasing the influence of the European powers as a counter, as that would probably lead to the conquest of the Americas by the Europeans, with all the attendent horrors of Homeline's history. Currently, Infinity agents are fighting a rearguard battle in China, trying to counter Centrum's influence without throwing the empire into either chaos or insularity. Category:Fan Settings Category:Reality Classification Category:Quantum 6